HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 10 JULY 2024
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that Israel's instruction for people to leave Gaza City, as a result of today’s directives. will only fuel mass suffering for Palestinian families, many of whom have been displaced many times.
These civilians must be protected, and their essential needs must be met, whether they flee or whether they stay.
This is what we mean when we say that all parties involved in this conflict must respect international humanitarian law, at all times.
The level of fighting and destruction that we are seeing in recent days, as the ceasefire talks are ongoing, is truly shocking.
Also I want to update you on Muhannad Hadi, our Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, who yesterday was in the Gaza strip for his third visit and briefed the Secretary-General on his visit earlier today.
What Mr. Hadi told us is that he saw firsthand the consequences of the breakdown in public order and safety as he entered and exited Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. He saw groups of men with sticks waiting for trucks to leave the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. All the trucks that he passed were badly damaged, with broken windshields, mirrors and hoods. He also observed bags of fortified flour from the World Food Programme and UNRWA scattered alongside the road coming out of the crossing.
He also saw that the city of Khan Younis has largely been reduced to sand and rubble. Every building that he saw had been damaged in some way, shape or form.
Mr. Hadi also met with women’s groups, at one of our UN guesthouses. They told him about the harrowing conditions at sites for displaced people. Many women have cut off their hair, due to lice, and difficulties in accessing the necessary hygiene products such as shampoo, and because of the lack of privacy at sites for displaced people. Others voiced despair over their inability to provide for their families, in particular for relatives living with disabilities and those who are sick and cannot get treatment. They also told Mr. Hadi that their children go to bed without eating and drinking.
The Humanitarian Coordinator also heard from women about how extreme overcrowding in displacement sites and how that can lead to tensions within communities. One woman said that living with many different families in the same room meant that she wasn't removing her hijab for days and that she couldn't brush her hair or change clothes without being watched.
Others told him that overcrowding, despair and the breakdown in public order and safety is leading to an increase in sexual and gender-based violence.
At the IMC Field Hospital in Deir al Balah, which Mr. Hadi visited along with Dr. Hanan Balkhi, the WHO Regional Director, Mr. Hadi says he was humbled to see how doctors and nurses provided trauma care for hundreds of patients with severe wounds, despite nearly impossible operational conditions, including the inability to get basic medical supplies such as gauze.
Just a programming note that Mr. Hadi will be in New York next week. We expect him to brief the Security Council. He will also come to the stakeout to speak to you in person.
Also we are trying for next Thursday to have from Jerusalem the UN Women Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory to brief you. She also recently has been to Gaza.
Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said today that four schools have been hit in the last four days in Gaza. Since the war began, he said, two thirds of UNRWA school buildings in Gaza – currently being used as shelters for displaced people, given that schools are not operational – two-thirds of those buildings have been hit. Some have been bombed out and many severely damaged.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that the UN and its partners are continuing to support the authorities’ efforts to address the impact of Monday’s deadly attacks in the capital Kyiv.
Local authorities say the attacks killed at least 34 civilians, including 5 children. More than 120 people, including 10 children, were injured. Some 130 buildings were damaged in those strikes. Rescue services are still on-site clearing debris.
Humanitarian organizations are providing emergency medical and psychological support, and are distributing drinking water, hygiene kits, and other items. They also helped move pediatric and cancer patients, including children with war-related amputations and trauma, to other medical facilities in Kyiv.
Aid workers have also registered people for cash assistance, including families whose relatives were either killed or were injured, as well as those whose homes have been damaged and can no longer be used.
For its part, our colleagues at the World Health Organization and other partners continue to work with medical authorities in those hospitals to provide support and medical equipment.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – MONUSCO says that a number of civilians, mostly women and children, have sought protection at the UN base in Maimoya, a village close to Beni in the North Kivu province. This is as joint operations with the Congolese Armed Forces are continuing against armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces.
UN peacekeepers have increased patrols in the area, and people are gradually returning to their homes.
LIBYA
The UN Support Mission, the political mission in Libya (UNSMIL) tells us they are deeply concerned by reports of the abduction in Misrata on Monday of a 29-year-old political activist, Al-Moatassim Al-Areebi. His whereabouts remain unknown.
The political mission reiterates the call by members of the Misrata Municipal Council and community representatives urging the city's security and law enforcement agencies to urgently investigate his abduction, to disclose his whereabouts, and secure his safe and immediate release.
The Mission has documented cases of at least 60 individuals who are currently detained across the country for their actual or perceived political affiliation. The Mission calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all people who are arbitrarily detained and accountability for those who are responsible for those arbitrary detentions.
HURRICANE BERYL
Last night, the UN, along with its partners, launched a response plan calling for $9 million to support 43,000 people impacted by the hurricane in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Of the $9 million, $5 million will be used to assist 24,000 people in Grenada, and $4 million to assist 19,000 people in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The assessments are continuing, amid access challenges due to power cuts and damage to infrastructure, and the response plan will be updated as we go along and as needed.
Our humanitarian colleagues stress that immediate action is crucial to meet the urgent needs of those affected, particularly in light of what is expected to be a very intense hurricane season this year.
DIGITAL ECONOMY REPORT
UN Trade and Development launched the Digital Economy Report 2024.
The report highlights that while digitalization drives global economic growth and offers unique opportunities for developing countries, its environmental repercussions are becoming increasingly severe.
Our friends at UN trade and Development (UNCTAD) emphasize the pressing need to address the environmental costs of rapid digital transformation. Key concerns include the depletion of finite raw materials for digital and low-carbon technologies, escalating water and energy consumption and the growing issue of digitalization-related waste.
SREBRENICA GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION
Tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m., there will be a message from the Secretary-General read out at the first annual memorial ceremony in observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
OBITUARY
The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the passing of Ambassador Sérgio Duarte, who, as some of you may recall, was the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs between 2007 and 2012.
Ambassador Duarte made a critical contribution to global disarmament and non-proliferation efforts across five decades as a distinguished civil servant.
Prior to his role as head of our department of Disarmament Affairs, Ambassador Duarte provided leadership to strengthen the international disarmament framework as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency and as President of the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
As a diplomat for his native Brazil, he also held Ambassadorial appointments in several States, including as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
The Secretary-General honours Ambassador Duarte’s tireless commitment to peace and the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons, which is something we all continue to work for. We all send our deepest condolences to his friends and family.
GUESTS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the guests at the noon briefing will be from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). Navid Hanif, the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, along with John Wilmoth and Clare Menozzi will present the “World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results.” Always an interesting read and tons of data.
